NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Glad miquwid ? is healing I looking more like herself ..
Is she going to be your pet chicken ? Or will you put her back in with the others ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: It looks great ! And very unique ! the only problem I see with it is this ...is that door large enough to be able to clean it out ?

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

It looks great ! And very unique ! the only problem I see with it is this ...is that door large enough to be able to clean it out ?

I'm guessing that you are talking about the duck hut? I can flip it over and have full access to the inside. It is not to heavy. The back straight wall is open to the garage wall. I put it up against the garage so that it was closed up, but I made it this way so that when I get the pond cleared out I can use it more of a shed. The garage has an overhand so it'll be protected. The chicken coop has a large door. That I walk into, but you got to watch your head. Next coop will be much taller.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
Here is my duck story.....After living here a few years, one night in January, I was awakened by quacking......Hard to believe, but my neighbors ducks from across the street were visiting and right under my bedroom window...Needles to say, the next morning I called my neighbor and laughingly told her about my midnight guests.

She never locked them up and apparently they decided to take a midnight stroll in the snow at about 20degree. My point is, from here I learned that ducks don't mind the cold and quite often stay out all the time even in the winter...I didn't have any chickens at that time. I tried to be understanding, but finally she locked them up at night because they were making it a nightly ritual. She was more worried they would get hit by a car, than by my getting woken up every night.

 

[Lynzi777]

I've never been too concerned about the ducks as far as warmth just knowing they could, still to this day, care less about even going into their house at night. When it's dark and they see me come outside they know I'm coming to lock up shop so they finally go in. Because they now know it's either they go in on their own or I attempt to round them up myself to get them in there.


I've been noticing lately that Gru hasn't been hanging around the girls as much. Anyone else's Roos behave this way? He went from being by their side every day to being on complete opposite ends of the yard from them. I just went out there a few minutes to add more hay to the bunny cages and he was laying down by one of the cages, girls were no where in sight. I came around the back of the yard and all three of them were in the woods near the pond on the opposite side of the property. I know he's going thru a molt, not sure if that has something to do with it?? Just weird that he isn't free ranging with them anymore.

 

[rancher hicks]

Hi there peeps! I am just joining (officially) and wanted to say hi! I wondered if there were other people with chickens in my area. I am on the Great Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. I have 18 chickens of various breeds. Once I figure out how to add them at the bottom I will! lol I have always relied on forums for great information on many many subjects & I look forward to being a part of this one! ..and yes, chickens ARE addictive! :-D

real tired tonight so I'll just say Welcome.

 

[rancher hicks]

How do I know when a hen has officially given up on her chicks? Today I came home from work to find the two chicks with Pearl screaming at her. I moved her and she had stolen six eggs from the others and was trying to incubate them. Should I just take the chicks away from her? should I give her a chance? After I removed the eggs she let the chicks back under her but I can hear them peeping over the monitor again.

Sometimes a hen will continue to incubate eggs and leave the chicks. Usually if there are no eggs and she's done she'll go back to laying or in my Sussex case go back up on the roost. Poor chick while old enough was screaming its head off last night.

 

[rancher hicks]

I remember seeing them there a couple years ago but haven't seen any there in a while. I remember nearly putting the truck in a ditch once because a broody was crossing the road with her chicks right there.

Believe it or not he could very well have been living in the wild. Some breeds are good foragers and while probably wouldn't be the best layers still live quite well. I did see a report on chickens living at a town compost with no intervention from man. Didn't matter that it snowed somehow they survived.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
I'm sure there are varying opinions on insulating and be that as it may, I've read plenty that it's not necessary. Personally I don't. If you have draft free walls you should be fine. I did add some to the back walls of my coop just because I had it laying around. None of my hoops are insulated and they do just fine.

Heat and humidity are the number one problem with chickens. They like dogs exhale alot of moisture. Add that to their waste and you have a respiratory nightmare. No matter whether you insulate or not , KEEP IT DRY.

I would imagine going from a warm coop to a cold outdoors would be the same shock to them that you would get. To each his/her own.

 

[Lynzi777]

I'm sure there are varying opinions on insulating and be that as it may, I've read plenty that it's not necessary. Personally I don't. If you have draft free walls you should be fine. I did add some to the back walls of my coop just because I had it laying around. None of my hoops are insulated and they do just fine.

Heat and humidity are the number one problem with chickens. The like dogs exhale alot of moisture. Add that to their waste and you have a respiratory nightmare. No matter whether you insulate or not , KEEP IT DRY.

I would imagine going from a warm coop to a cold outdoors would be the same shock to them that you would get. To each his/her own.

This is exactly why I brought it up on the other thread and just said that I've read/heard that if you insulate, make sure you have plenty or ventilation because of the humidity that can build up and cause problems. I for one do not have insulated coops and had problems with frostbite last winter. I guess I was just shocked to hear over there that most of them DID insulate their coops. I remember it was around the same time TOB was working on her coop and had brought it up and we all had voiced our opinions so I had commented only after reading what all of you had voiced to her.